A couple months into my pregnancy, my mom gave me and Andreas a gift certificate for 12 hours of private Hypnobirthing training with a certified instructor. The initial lessons were challenging, not because the practice itself was all that difficult (both Dre and I have had lots of exposure to and belief in focused breathing exercises, guided meditation, etc) but because the program felt, well, sort of silly…

Continue reading "Hypnobirthing isn't really hypnosis, and it's not just for birth" →

This is the story of what happens when two children of lesbians (each their mother's only child) have a kid. The short version of the story: picture a swarm of grandmas circling the baby like the world's most loving vultures.

The long version:

Continue reading "Tavi's got four grandmas" →

My father-in-law generously gifted us a super fancy stroller before Tavi was born, and last week we took it for its inaugural stroll.

Dre and I have already gotten super used to baby-wearing, so using the stroller felt like a huge novelty. You mean, the baby sits in there? And I push this thing? And we walk behind it?

This particular stroller is called a BOB, and if you know strollers, it's totally the SUV of baby-pushing devices. Even though we got the lowest-end model, the thing's got shocks, for godsake! We just call it The Overkill Stroller.

Overkill or not, there's no denying it was a smooth ride…

Continue reading "This is me pushing a stroller and feeling weird" →

Since we live in a very small urban home, we've had to be super selective with baby crap. Most of our baby supplies have been hand-me-downs, but I'm even picky about those: if it can't collapse and slide under a couch, tuck into the closet, or fit on a shelf in Tavi's mini-nursery, we probably don't need it. Vibrating baby recliner? Don't need it! Motorized swing? Don't need it! Baby stimulation station with dangling toys, which we call The Neglector 1000? Ok, but only because it folds up for easy storage.

Other than one horrific trip to Babies R Us to get a breast pump and a couple sleep sacks, our very few baby supplies have all been hand-me-downs, gifts, or Craigslisted. As we ran screaming from Babies R Us, filled with pink and blue plastic crap we didn't need, Dre said to me, "I never want to go there ever again."

I nodded. All that molded plastic made me feel panicky, and most of it you don't even need! The baby industrial complex tries to convince you to buy everything, but really all you need is blankets and burp rags.

One of the things I decided early on that we absolutely did NOT need was a baby bathtub. When Dre brought up the idea before Tavi was born, I poo-pooed him…

Continue reading "The baby industrial complex and the pink bathtub" →

I feel like I owe y'all and apology. For those of you who got to know me via Offbeat Bride, you're used to a certain kind of writing from me. My wedding planning process and wedding day were, quite literally, an open book. I spilled the beans about my partner, my family, our friends, my feelings, and getting baked while watching rainbows. It was fun and awesome and allowed me to get to know so many of you. Honestly, the offbeat community is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. All because I was a blabberface about my wedding!

But when it comes to my son and my new experience of motherhood, I'm finding myself clamp-mouthed with a brick wall around my stories.

Continue reading "Musings on babies, blogging, and privacy" →

Last month I shared our process of transforming our walk-in closet into a baby nook. Well, we finally (almost) finished the process, and I figured I'd share pictures.

The only thing missing is this poster, which is on its way from London.

Now, I'm not delusional here: despite the wide-angle lens, this is a small space. But I'm already envisioning how, once our baby is walking, we can unhinge the door, add a baby gate, and basically turn the little room into a padded toddler asylum filled with foam mattress flooring with pillows and blankets everywhere. And once he's a little bigger, a tiny bunk bed with a cubby space underneath. We'll see if we can milk this room 'til pre-school!

But for now, it's a perfect place to change a diaper, do a quick feeding (this isn't my nursing station, to be sure!), and store our impending son's clothing and supplies.